William Cox (1817 – 12 December 1889) was a

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solicitor and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. Cox qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in 1840 and became a member of the Common Council of the

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in 1851. In 1857 he was chosen as a candidate to contest the two-seat constituency of

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

as a Whig and supporter of the policy of

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

. The election was held on 29 March, and Cox was elected, coming second of the four candidates, with a majority of 156 votes over the third-placed candidate. When a further general election was called in 1859, Cox found himself opposed by two other Liberal candidates. He lost his seat, with ''

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'' noting satirically that:

"...the honourable gentleman neither spared his lungs nor his powers of sitting out the most long-winded debate... He had almost arrived at the distinction of being called a bore... Happily for his peace, his health, and his pocket, his too Liberal career has been stopped by an oblivious constituency".

On 13 November 1861 one of the sitting members of parliament for Finsbury,

Thomas Slingsby Duncombe Thomas Slingsby Duncombe (179613 November 1861) was a Radical politician, who was a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Hertford from 1826 to 1832 and for Finsbury from 1834 until his death. Duncombe was a tireless champion of ...

, died. On 9 December Cox announced that he would seek election in the resulting by-election. The by-election was held on 16 December, and Cox defeated his only opponent, J R Mills by 42 votes. Cox held the seat until the next general election in July 1865. He was one of four Liberal candidates who, along with a lone

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, contested the seat. He failed to be re-elected, finishing in third place with 5,008 votes, more than 2,800 behind the second-placed candidate. Between c.1861 and c.1868 Cox commissioned a house to be built in the village of Netteswell,

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. The house was called 'Spurriers'. Cox lived in the house until his death in December 1889 aged 72. William Cox is buried in the parish of St Andrew's churchyard, Netteswell, Harlow.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, William Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 1817 births 1889 deaths UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 People from Harlow